EDC Flashlights: UltraFire C3

I have never really owned a quality flashlight, except perhaps my tiny AAA Maglight Solitaire that ate batteries and put out very little light in return. But I recently purchased a latest-gen LED flashlight that is a quantum improvement over anything I've ever used before. I'm not going to get into a lot of detail, but for the interested, there is a great flashlight FAQ here and a flashlight forum here. See also light-reviews.com and flashlightreviews.com for loads of reviews. Many lights (mostly cheap) are available on DealExtreme, and many items are listed with reviews and comments from buyers.

The flashlight revolution is all about powerful new LED emitters. We're all familiar with the little two-wire LEDs found on keychain lights or used in clusters in (cheap) larger flashlights. These are called simply "miniature LEDs." They use little power and put out decent light. But companies like Philips and Cree have developed much larger and more powerful LEDs called "power LEDs." These require heatsinks and some associated circuits to operate, but they too are very efficient and put out a lot of light.

The Cree XR-E (detailed tech) is a power LED performance/value champion and can be found in a large variety of inexpensive lights. I purchased the UltraFire C3 from DealExtreme for about $10 shipped. It is a single AA design, with an anodized aluminum body and what appears to be decent o-ring seals. It is no SureFire, but for the money I'm very happy. It puts out probably about 40-45 lumens (peak), depending on your battery. That is more than enough for any basic task and better than your typical double C-cell non-LED flashlight (e.g., 2xC Maglights produce 36 lumens). And a single, quality alkaline AA will run for about 90 min down to 50% output and will continue to put out at least some light for about twice that long. For fuller reviews, with lots of photos, see here and here.



You can find any number Cree-based AA flashlights on eBay and all over the internet. Energizer makes one that you can pick up for $17 at Target. But anything that says Cree on the box is a serious light. Upmarket, look for Fenix or the above-mentioned SureFire, the Cadillac of tactical lights. Personally, next time I will buy either the Romisen RC-G2, which is just $11.30 shipped, forward-clicky (see below), and has a little better reputation for consistent quality than my UltraFire; or spend a bit more ($16.67) on the even better MTE SSC-P4. Both are 1xAA lights.

To really get high output, you need a higher voltage light, which will typically use 2xCR123A batteries. Examples are the 170 lumen Romisen RC-E4, the 180+ lumen UltraFire C2 (review), or the fantastic 225 lumen Fenix TK10. If you prefer sticking with (cheap) AAs, there are also brighter 2xAA lights like the UltraFire WF-606A (maybe 110 lumens).

There are two things I don't like about my C3. The first is that it has a reverse click-switch, meaning that you have to click it all the way on for it to power up. A forward click-switch will allow you to depress the switch slightly for temporary light, without turning it all the way on. Also, when I first got it, mine flickered a bit until it warmed up. I just stretched the rear spring and tightened everything really tight, and that fixed it. I hope it stays fixed, but in any case, I like things to work right out of the box.

Next time I would like to get a light with a crenellated bezel (as below), which may be touted a defensive feature, but more importantly protects your lens and lets you stand your light lens-down to make a kind of mini-lantern. I'd also like another light with some real output, for effective outdoor use. There may just be an UltraFire C2 in my future.


A boutique McGizmo McLuxIII-PD: about $400, if you can even find one for sale

Addendum: See update here.

Everyone Likes a Quitter

At least when they work at AIG. Or so the comments about this resignation letter of an AIG exec generally indicate. It is not a bad letter, really, and one might even rightly feel sympathetic. Until you remember that this gentleman has made millions just pushing around other people's money. Much of which has now disappeared while, as he admits, he still has his.

One commenter muses: "My father is an ironworker and so was my grandfather. My uncle, as a carpenter, builds beautiful staircases. I also work with my hands. For the life of me I still can't figure out what AIG makes that justifies the $700,000 bonus this man received." Indeed.

Trending towards Homogeneity

I found interesting Nick Kristof's take on one consequence of the global migration away from consuming newspapers to grazing on-line news. One result, he argues, is that we will see further polarity and more entrenched homogeneity of perspectives, because we naturally self-select news that is most congenial to our personal perspectives. The more empowered we are to self-select our media, the less diversity we are exposed to. One pundit calls this new self-selected Internet news "The Daily Me":

The effect of The Daily Me would be to insulate us further in our own hermetically sealed political chambers. One of last year’s more fascinating books was Bill Bishop’s “The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart.” He argues that Americans increasingly are segregating themselves into communities, clubs and churches where they are surrounded by people who think the way they do. Almost half of Americans now live in counties that vote in landslides either for Democrats or for Republicans, he said. In the 1960s and 1970s, in similarly competitive national elections, only about one-third lived in landslide counties. “The nation grows more politically segregated — and the benefit that ought to come with having a variety of opinions is lost to the righteousness that is the special entitlement of homogeneous groups,” Mr. Bishop writes. One 12-nation study found Americans the least likely to discuss politics with people of different views, and this was particularly true of the well educated. High school dropouts had the most diverse group of discussion-mates, while college graduates managed to shelter themselves from uncomfortable perspectives. The result is polarization and intolerance. Cass Sunstein, a Harvard law professor now working for President Obama, has conducted research showing that when liberals or conservatives discuss issues such as affirmative action or climate change with like-minded people, their views quickly become more homogeneous and more extreme than before the discussion. For example, some liberals in one study initially worried that action on climate change might hurt the poor, while some conservatives were sympathetic to affirmative action. But after discussing the issue with like-minded people for only 15 minutes, liberals became more liberal and conservatives more conservative.

I find this trend very disturbing, but am not sure it is substantially the result of changes in how we get our news. That is simply one facet of the democratization of information that the Internet has brought about. But the enormous welter (relative to the past) of opinions and viewpoints that we are now all exposed to has no doubt caused an increasing retreat into ideological subcultures in a search for foundational worldviews and certainty. This also has factored into the great growth of conservative religious movements (yes, like Mormonism).

I'm one of those strange people who really likes to be challenged by alternative cultural perspectives. I find it invigorating. Homogeneity, for me, is anathema. But I do not think print media inherently promotes a greater diversity of perspective. Newspapers are products, after all, that their publishers are trying to sell. They serve their readership, necessarily. But in that respect, true enough, they can never compete with the infinite alternatives available on the Web.

Good News for Your Prostate

Some very important research on prostate cancer screening and treatment was just concluded and published. NYT has a good writeup.

The fact is that if you get prostate cancer it will kill you, or not, at whatever stage it is diagnosed. Say a man has a PSA test today and it comes back positive.

It leads to a biopsy that reveals he has prostate cancer, and he is treated for it. There is a one in 50 chance that, in 2019 or later, he will be spared death from a cancer that would otherwise have killed him. And there is a 49 in 50 chance that he will have been treated unnecessarily for a cancer that was never a threat to his life. Prostate cancer treatment can result in impotence and incontinence when surgery is used to destroy the prostate, and, at times, painful defecation or chronic diarrhea when the treatment is radiation.

So, each year more than 180,000 men receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer, but of those only 3600 will truly benefit from the traumatic treatment. And there is no way to tell who those are.

The good news, then, is that it now appears pointless to get screened and treated for prostate cancer. You may be that one in fifty men who will benefit. But the odds are not high and the downside risks are very substantial.

And in fact, these studies are also significant for women with respect to mammograms and breast cancer:

Screening is not only an issue in prostate cancer. If the European study is correct, mammography has about the same benefit as the PSA test, said Dr. Michael B. Barry, a prostate cancer researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital who wrote an editorial accompanying the papers. But prostate cancers often are less dangerous than breast cancers, so screening and subsequent therapy can result in more harm. With mammography, about 10 women receive a diagnosis and needless treatment for breast cancer to prevent one death. With both cancers, researchers say they badly need a way to distinguish tumors that would be deadly without treatment from those that would not.

Update: There is a follow-up article in the NYT on the results of these studies that is a little more nuanced in interpreting them (for another counterpoint, see also here). Clearly further research may modify their conclusions. But it also summarizes the present results in clear and simple terms: "The [PSA] test is about 50 times more likely to ruin your life than it is to save your life."

2nd Class Citizens

I'm looking forward to the new iPhone/iPod Touch OS (3.0) and am glad that my Touch will support it. (See officially here and unofficially here.) Some highlights for me are landscape keyboard support across all apps, more sophisticated app support and in-app purchases, and most especially, greatly enhanced YouTube support. I love YouTube and love using it on my Touch, but the current support for it blows.

But while iPhone owners get this update for free, Touch owners will have to shell out $9.95. Why? Because there are competitors to the iPhone but not to the Touch. And trust me, we Touch owners have no practical choice but to upgrade. All apps from here on out will be coded with the OS 3.0 SDK. Do not upgrade, and your Touch is hastening towards obsolescence. Isn't it great that now even our music players are on the software upgrade extortion merry-go-round? You just gotta love being the willing victim of a monopoly.

Update: DailyTech just noted that Apple has fessed up that the Touch does indeed contains a bluetooth chip (Apple in the past denied it). It was used originally for its lame Nike+ service. BUT, if you want to use it for bluetooth headphones, syncs, remotes, etc., you will, no surprise, have to cough up 10 clams for the OS upgrade. Grrrr.

Porcine Superbugs

Just a quick shoutout to a recent NYT column by Nick Kristof on MRSA "superbugs," staph infections that are resistant to antibiotics. These seem to be transmitted from pigs to humans and are near-epidemic among people who work with hogs. I was shocked to read that 18,000 people a year die from MRSA infections, more than die annually from AIDS. The pig MRSA problem is probably linked to the extreme overuse of antibiotics with industrial-farm pigs, as with all industrial livestock. After reading about "pig brain infections" a while back, I personally am feeling even more put off by pork. Risk of parasites is bad enough. It really is a high-risk meat.

Update: If Kristof's first column wasn't enough to put you off pork, this follow-up may do the trick.

Enrichment Night Activity?

My High Priest group leader sent this around to all of us, bearing the caption, "Wyoming Relief Society Meeting," without further explanation. I'm not sure what official source this came from, but he is my priesthood leader and I'm sure his description must be accurate. Is this some kind of church pilot program? Will sisters in Utah also be having NRA-themed Relief Society functions?

Unfortunately, this is a prime example of unsafe gun handling. One woman has one forefinger on the trigger and is pointing her gun at the other. Another is loading her gun while pointing it at her friend. I support RKBA, but I must reluctantly admit that perhaps guns should kept out of Enrichment Night.

(Just to give you an idea of the kind of ward I live in. As I've said, I remind ward members occasionally that I like guns, which is both true and an effective smokescreen for my liberalism. And yes, if you're not a Mormon, none of this makes sense.)

Warning: Long Rant

Listening to NPR this morning on manufacturing in the US, I experienced a moment of insight on just how badly managed our country has been, especially under Republican leadership. Apologies in advance, but I need to vent, which is why blogs exist.

Here are some facts. We basically have the highest corporate tax rates in the world, one of the main things driving corporations and jobs overseas. Other countries use value added taxes (VAT) on goods to pay for things like government services and health care. These costs, then, are borne by consumers. We use corporate payroll taxes, which are almost half of all tax dollars, to pay for government, and then we make employers bear most the cost of worker health care besides. Or not, as companies continue to roll back or drop coverage, or pass costs on to workers.

We have the highest health costs and lowest health care coverage among first world nations, and ranked last in heath care in a recent international study. In healthy life expectancy (HALE), we rank behind 27 other countries, tying with Slovenia. Given that practically everyone over the age of 8 in Slovenia smokes, yet their infant mortality is less than half of ours (very significant to this metric), Americans are by any measure very unhealthy. But get the government involved in our health care? Why, it would ruin it!

Back to taxes. The very "unamerican" VAT of virtually all other countries saddles us with a huge trade disadvantage, because foreign VATs are not levied on trade goods. US manufacturers pay steep taxes on goods they produce, taxes which foreign manufacturers do not pay at all, and must price even their trade goods to cover those taxes. The US government also offers just a bare fraction of the tax incentives other nations offer to manufacturers. These are the major reasons American consumer manufacturing has effectively disappeared.

I challenge you to go to Wal-mart and find anything there made in America, except cans and boxes of processed food, which is of course to Americans what smoking is to Slovenians, a slow death by self-administered poison. Most stimulus money spent on consumer goods will simply leave the US. We only retain a major presence in capital manufacturing (e.g., airplanes and hydroelectric generators) because of our historically superior education and vocational training, which since the '70s has been in steady decline. We now face a serious shortage of skilled workers. Look for these jobs to go next.

Republican economic policies have of course fostered the concentration of wealth into the hands of the few, broadening the income gap. The GOP's paradigm is based on supply-side, trickle-down economics. Basically, keep taxes very low on the wealthy, and their ever-expanding wealth will trickle down and raise up everyone else. Hence, e.g., the GOP has rolled back sharply taxes on capital gains and stock dividends, leading the richest man in the world, Warren Buffett, to marvel that he only pays 17% of his income in taxes while his secretary pays 32%. Yet Republicans are screaming about the unfairness of Obama wanting to roll back the Bush tax cuts for top earners, employing their best "you'll be next" fearmongering as a smokescreen.

In the place of manufacturing jobs for low- and middle-income workers, our economic policies have erected a financial services empire for the wealthy. Kind of like England and Iceland. And now that that industry is devastated, with about ten years of market gains wiped out, $50+ trillion gone and no end in sight, all three of these countries are in deep trouble. And their rich are less rich, though to be sure, still very rich. (The retirees who have lost trillions, however, are mostly not rich.)

On the other hand, middle-class wages have been effectively stagnant since the '80s. The middle class has kept apace with inflation first by become two-earner households, then by becoming deeply leveraged, thanks to cheap credit and inflated home values. Now that joblessness is headed to double-digits (already there in five states), home values have collapsed, and credit is scarce and costly, the middle class is in deep $*&!. Where the poor have always been.

These policies and economic ideology have been insufficiently opposed by most moderates and progressives, due to these ideas' notional popularity and to the power of K Street, advocates of the wealthy. Republicans continue to be masters at reductionism. They have no good ideas right now, but are great at populist spin. How could low taxes not be good? Indeed, low taxes on the middle class and corporations would be good. On the other hand, high taxes on fuel, consumption, and the wealthy would also be very good. Likewise one could deconstruct similar spin on small government, deregulation, etc.

So today I'm in a testy, "we've been sold a pack of lies" kind of mood. Bless Obama, curse Reagan and all his offspring. Obama is not getting everything right, but at least he understands all this. His plans for health care, education, tax reform, etc., may be too ambitious in this dire moment, but I understand the urgency he feels. I feel it too. And if his policies remake America into an European-style socialist republic, color me a socialist.

The Anti-Touch

Apple has revised its Shuffle, perhaps to ensure that it really is the polar antithesis of the Touch. While the Touch does so much that its ability to play music is almost forgotten, the Shuffle only plays music, and that just barely. The Touch is highly configurable, with numerous bells, whistles and gewgaws, and multiple controls. The new Shuffle has one switch on it and no buttons. It still shuffles, naturally, and you can change the volume and skip tracks with headphone cord-mounted controls. But that's about it.

It's "hot new feature" is an artificial (vocoder-like) voice that tells you the name of the song and artist you're listening to. Yawn. It also supports multiple playlists. That is more useful. But you can't buy a player today that does not support playlists. So yawn again.

And the new Shuffle comes with multiple downsides. First, $80 is a premium price, even for a 4gb player. And the smaller size is not useful. They've gone from a player that is slightly larger than my thumb to one slightly smaller. I don't need something that small. As a NYT article said, "Of course, at this size, Apple may want to consider adding another feature: a locator beacon. The new Shuffle’s so small, it’s only a matter of time before you lose it."

But the real deal-killer is the fact that you have to use the Apple-supplied earbuds with it, since it requires the integrated controls to operate. Some of us just cannot use the Apple buds (ouch!) and their sound quality is terrible. Doubtless Apple (and perhaps some 3rd parties, too) will introduce upgrade earphones. But Apple's earphones are never a good value, and in any case, you simply cannot use your 'phones of choice.

Of course, Apple is trying to hold onto a profitable niche. I expect these cost $20 or less to produce. I personally was hoping Apple would take a cue from Chinese Shuffle knockoffs (see left) and put a little screen on it.

But if you want something like that, with much better sound besides, just get a Sansa Clip.

Foodie Mags

Another throwaway post, I know, but I liked this writeup on some changes afoot in food publishing. All positive, I think. One of my main complaints with most food mags is that they are aimed either at soccer moms or economically unconstrained super-foodies. I'm not interested in either more creative cupcakes or truffles and fois. But it looks like Gourmet may take a step towards the proletariat. Smart move, I say.

Reflecting the bad economy, Gourmet, which usually writes about expensive restaurants and faraway travel, has added a feature about what to do with leftovers, and put a ham sandwich — albeit a fancy one — on its March cover. . . . “There is an incredible opportunity,” said Ruth Reichl, the editor in chief of Gourmet. “People need help learning to cook again, and they need advice on less-expensive ingredients, and we’re trying to give it to them.”

Rise of the Dittoheads

This has been dismal week, and that fact was probably behind a post I wrote and then deleted (too grim) about the whole AIG boondoggle, which will probably cost every family in America about $3000 each. Then I hear today that the $13 billion we just gave a very badly mismanaged GM has already disappeared, and they need another $16 billion to keep the lights on next week. As Gail Collins just observed of the PennyMac swindle, "Once again, we are reminded that life is not fair. Lately these unfairness bulletins have been coming so fast and furious that there isn’t time to get upset about all of them. Prioritization is essential." I'm about to stroke out with rage at the trillions we taxpayers are just handing, after the fact, to greedy and feckless bankers and execs. I don't even know where to direct my spleen first. So I'm just going to breathe deep, leave the unfairness bulletins to other people, and instead turn to some political comedy.

Rush Limbaugh. Now, there is someone truly funny. Not his jabs and jibes, but the man himself. Just thinking about him makes me smile. If you do not know why, well, it would take too long to explain (start here for bio and here for his warped reality). But I see him as a one-man vaudeville act. I smiled even wider today at Timothy Egan's column. I realize that Republicans are headless and desperate, and the turn to Newt Gingrich I understand, but the rush to Rush leaves me really bemused. I liked (and agreed with) Letterman's comment that at his much ballyhooed CPAC address he looked like an Eastern European gangster. And he raved like a madman. If I could take him seriously, he would frighten me. And I am frighted that there are millions of people who do take him seriously, including (at least in appearance) some Republican leaders.

In a saavy move, the Dems are in fact championing El Rushbo as the face and voice of the Republican party. The GOP is drowning and the Dems are throwing them an anvil. This too makes me smile, but it somewhat disappoints me as well. I think government is better when both parties are strong, and as I've said before, I am at heart a disaffected Republican who wishes the party would come back to me. Not looking like that will happen anytime soon.

Big Pharma Exposed Again

If that title sounds a little tabloid, well, I really wish this issue would hit the scandal rags. Few things fill me with more pure outrage than than Big Pharma's takeover of American medicine. Most doctors, many unwittingly, are Pharma pawns. Some of course are not. But how can you tell which from which?

This problem has long been known. But now, students and some faculty at Harvard are taking the ethical highground and demanding reform at their own institution.

In a first-year pharmacology class at Harvard Medical School, Matt Zerden grew wary as the professor promoted the benefits of cholesterol drugs and seemed to belittle a student who asked about side effects. Mr. Zerden later discovered something by searching online that he began sharing with his classmates. The professor was not only a full-time member of the Harvard Medical faculty, but a paid consultant to 10 drug companies, including five makers of cholesterol treatments. “I felt really violated,” Mr. Zerden, now a fourth-year student, recently recalled. “Here we have 160 open minds trying to learn the basics in a protected space, and the information he was giving wasn’t as pure as I think it should be.” . . . The students argue, for example, that Harvard should be embarrassed by the F grade it recently received from the American Medical Student Association, a national group that rates how well medical schools monitor and control drug industry money. . . . “Harvard needs to live up to its name,” said Kirsten Austad, 24, a first-year Harvard Medical student who is one of the movement’s leaders. “We are really being indoctrinated into a field of medicine that is becoming more and more commercialized.” David Tian, 24, a first-year Harvard Medical student, said: “Before coming here, I had no idea how much influence companies had on medical education. And it’s something that’s purposely meant to be under the table, providing information under the guise of education when that information is also presented for marketing purposes.”

Mormon Fiction

The success of Mormon fantasy authors (notably Card, Wolverton and Hickman) has long fascinated me. Likewise with the new inroads by Mormon authors into youth fiction, in both the spawn of Rowling and teen romance genres. Brandon Mull well represents the former and of course Stephenie Meyer the latter.

I honestly don't know where this is coming from, but the Boston Globe takes a good look at it. Worth the read.

A Radio Patriarch Passes

I loved Paul Harvey as a kid. His conservative politics went over my head, of course, but in some small way I'm sure he contributed to my formation. The conservative media celebrities of the present, the Hannitys and O'Reillys and Limbaughs, have nothing like his power (except Glen Beck, who has a small touch of his magic). They're all shock-jocks. They love to make critics. Harvey made everyone fans. He had unparalleled gifts for making everything sound like common sense, and the inspired delivery of a born entertainer.

I was sad to read of his passing on Saturday. There may be a few Garrison Keillors out there (though I only know of the one) who will keep alive his folksy flame, with or without his conservatism. But with all the pandering and snark in today's conservative media, I'm afraid Harvey belonged to a bygone era. We'll never see a broadcaster quite like him again.

Orthorexia

First, a word of explanation and apology. Almost all my reading right now falls into three categories: I read for work/school, I read in service of my hobbies and interests, and unless I'm on a media fast, I read a bit most days from the New York Times online. Some of all that turns up here, but if it seems like most of my general interest posts come from the NYTimes, well, that's about all the general reading I do.

Now, if that wasn't enough of a turn-off, I'll warn you that this post is really nothing special. Just an "I need a break so I'll blog something" post. And it's a little depressing. But this article from (you guessed it) the NYTimes gave me pause. I am, compared to most people, food obsessed, and on two levels. First, as I've blogged before, I love really great food. And when it comes to great food, nutrition is not a consideration. I'm very happy to eat 1500 calories of fat and sugar in one meal, if it's a truly great meal. Otherwise, as a National Weight Control Registry candidate, I am usually quite careful about what I eat the rest of the time. I have a definite personal list of "good" foods and "bad" foods.

But in spite of that, I believe strongly that moral categories like "good" and "evil" should not be applied to food. It's a good thing to eat "bad" food sometimes, if truly pleasurable and celebratory. (I speak nutritionally, of course. Lousy cooking and spoiled food are rightly called "bad" and should not be eaten).

Speaking of good or bad eating makes more sense. But as this article illustrates, obsessing about healthy eating can itself become a destructive eating disorder. We have to be especially careful around our kids, who are less able than adults to moderate or interpret hyperbolic comments we may make about "evil" foods.

Lisa Dorfman, a registered dietitian and the director of sports nutrition and performance at the University of Miami, says that she often sees children who are terrified of foods that are deemed “bad” by parents. “It’s almost a fear of dying, a fear of illness, like a delusional view of foods in general,” she said. “I see kids whose parents have hypnotized them. I have 5-year-olds that speak like 40-year-olds. They can’t eat an Oreo cookie without being concerned about trans fats.”

Phantom Limb

I have some interest in both architecture and design and livability/sustainability issues, so I occasionally read Allison Arieff's blog on the NYTimes website. Her latest post was more of a meditation on books, looking at William Stout and his eponymous architecture and design bookstore in San Francisco, occasioned by a recent lecture he gave. Visiting Stout's incredible bookstore just went on my bucket list.

But given the number of books I use and own, constantly surrounded by them in my home and university offices, I am in fact pretty unsentimental about them. I buy some books for the pure love of them, for their typographic tactility, but mostly they are just a source of information and entertainment. So bibliophile sentimentality, as information moves ever more rapidly from ink to bytes, is not something I keenly feel. But I admit that Arieff's closing remarks moved even me just a bit.

Stout’s presentation [on his life with books] was so inspiring yet so bittersweet because his vocation seems entirely of an era that is passing us by. For centuries we’ve looked to libraries as historic evidence of cultured civilizations: will electronic texts fill that bill for future generations? While I’ll admit that I’m intrigued by the Kindle, it will never replace the rows and stacks of books that crowd my house. And when I first settle into my comfy chair ready to read with that new device, I’ll probably feel as if I had a phantom limb — I’ll mourn the absence of my fingers slowly turning the pages.

(Sorry for putting you through yet another "death of books" post. Maybe I'm more sentimental about it than I think . . .)

The Aphorist

Someone (an otherwise insane poster, in fact) sent this out to a philosophy listserv I subscribe to under the title "Political Philosophy - Pithy Version." Most of it may be more humorous than true, but there are a few choice bons mots. Apologies for length.

In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.  -- John Adams

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself.  -- Mark Twain

There is no distinctly native American criminal class . . . save Congress.  -- Mark Twain

No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.  -- Mark Twain (1866)

Talk is cheap . . . except when Congress does it.  -- Anonymous

What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. -- Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.  -- Thomas Jefferson

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.  -- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.  -- Winston Churchill

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.  -- George Bernard Shaw

Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.  -- Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.  -- Voltaire (1764)

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.  -- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.  -- Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.  -- Ronald Reagan (1986)

I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.  -- Will Rogers

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!  -- P.J. O'Rourke

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!  -- Pericles (430 B.C.)

The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.  -- Ronald Reagan

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.  -- Winston Churchill

The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.  -- Mark Twain

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.  -- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper you are misinformed. -- Mark Twain

Why I Am Not a Liberal

I used to think I was a conservative, then I thought I was a liberal, then a progressive, then a pragmatist. Now I regard myself as post-ideological. That's another way of saying, everyone gets it right and wrong in turns, whatever their ideology. No -ism will infallibly guide. If I had to chose a political label, it would simply be critic. Or maybe aphorist (see tomorrow's post). Or crooked timberist (see below).

Per liberalism, David Brooks really nailed it in his column today. I discovered Brooks as an author (Bobos in Paradise, brilliant) before I discovered him as a columnist. But in him I find a post-ideological soulmate. It's "clear that we’re on the cusp of the biggest political experiment of our lifetimes," and his article frames the trepidation most of feel about that, whether Obama fans (as he and I are) or not. But I loved a particular biographical aside he offers up:

The political history of the 20th century is the history of social-engineering projects executed by well-intentioned people that began well and ended badly. There were big errors like communism, but also lesser ones, like a Vietnam War designed by the best and the brightest, urban renewal efforts that decimated neighborhoods, welfare policies that had the unintended effect of weakening families and development programs that left a string of white elephant projects across the world.

These experiences drove me toward the crooked timber school of public philosophy: Michael Oakeshott, Isaiah Berlin, Edward Banfield, Reinhold Niebuhr, Friedrich Hayek, Clinton Rossiter and George Orwell. These writers — some left, some right — had a sense of epistemological modesty. They knew how little we can know. They understood that we are strangers to ourselves and society is an immeasurably complex organism. They tended to be skeptical of technocratic, rationalist planning and suspicious of schemes to reorganize society from the top down.

Before long, I was no longer a liberal. Liberals are more optimistic about the capacity of individual reason and the government’s ability to execute transformational change. They have more faith in the power of social science, macroeconomic models and 10-point programs.

I have little faith in any of that. Odds are much of this will help some, but none of this will rescue the economy. It looks like Wall St. is agreeing with me, but hey, we all know what geniuses those guys are.

Battery Addendum

My earlier post on the newer (low self-discharge) battery cell technology could have benefited from a bit more homework. But hey, I don't do this for a living. It's just a lunchtime diversion. So, some corrections and expansions.

First, the Wiki article on the low self-discharge NiMH battery is useful. The article lists about 30 brands, all apparently produced by just five makers. So consumers have lots of choices.

I contrasted alkaline single-use batteries with NiMH rechargeables in terms of energy density, and said they were much lower. That is not true. Now, not all (non-lithium) single-use batteries are alkalines. There are several technologies used, some better than others. Most dollar-store batteries are probably non-alkalines and therefore have very little juice, much less than rechargeables. But the name-brand alkalines are in fact more energy dense than rechargeables, approaching 3000 mAh for the very best.

That being so, why do rechargeables last longer and/or perform better in some devices like digital cameras? I had thought it was related to energy density (mAh), but that is incorrect. The reasons are more complex, but one forum poster explained it nicely:

It's true that alkaline cells have an impressive energy capacity, usually greater then 2500mAh. But this is only one of several factors that affects the performance of a cell. At certain points in their operation digicams have extremely high power demands. The power a cell or battery can deliver depends on both the voltage it can provide, and the electrical current it can deliver (the power supplied is actually the voltage multiplied by the current). The voltage is limited, it is fixed by the chemistry of the cell, so the only way to deliver that power is with a large current. The essential problem with alkaline batteries is that they have great difficulty providing these large electric currents. Alkaline cells are brilliant, however, in the right application. For low power devices, or devices that are used infrequently e.g. doorbells, radios, remote controls, etc., they are superb. They have a huge energy capacity, and a shelf-life of several years. But if you need bursts of high power, as required in a digicam, they are unsuitable - except in emergencies. (Many pro photographers keep some high quality alkalines in their bag so that they can always take a few shots if their rechargeables run out, etc.)

So, for low-power, long-term use, alkalines work great. But for electronics with higher power demands (cameras, music players, flashlights, portable gaming devices), lithiums and NiMH rechargeables perform much better. But the new low self-discharge NiMH batteries work about equally as well as any of them in most applications. As well as being cheaper and greener. For now, they retain their superbattery crown.

Addendum: See further update here.

A Better Breakfast

I've long been disappointed with the traditional breakfast foods, except for eggs, which I eat by the dozen (we buy five dozen at a time). I have a friend who used to challenge tradition and cook himself a full spaghetti breakfast. For good health and weight maintenance, breakfast should by all rights be our largest, richest, and most indulgent meal of the day. It's the Cary Grant Diet: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.

It's the lack of breakfast variety that most disappoints, and this week Mark Bittman of the NY Times took that on. His article was less interesting to me for the recipes it offers than for its challenge to American breakfast culture. I am inspired. We'll see what happens. An excerpt:

[I]t could be that I’ve traveled enough to learn the joys of jook, the Chinese rice porridge also known as congee, which is among my favorite ways to start the day even when seasoned with nothing more than scallions, soy and chopped peanuts; of the kipper, baked beans, broiled mushrooms, tomatoes and other staples of the traditional English breakfast; of cucumbers, feta and olives, which I ate daily in Turkey; of ful medames, the lemon-kissed fava concoction of Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East; and, one glorious day about 10 years ago, of kao tom, the Thai version of jook, loaded with sausage, eggs and nam pla. Everything is fair game at breakfast — and long has been, of course — but to most Americans it doesn’t seem appropriate to start making what amounts to dinner at seven in the morning. It’s one thing to eat leftover pizza, pasta, roast chicken, soup, whatever; it’s entirely another to start cooking them while your tea or coffee is still brewing.

A Dash of Dilbert

A colleague sent me this, to reassure me of my indispensability in my job. I'm not at all reassured (I'm in fact disturbed that he felt the need to reassure me), but I did laugh. As I do at most Dilberts. Oh how I wish they made no sense to me.

Battery Revolution

I've realized recently that a number of my "guy stuff" interests (watches, DAPs, pocket knives) fit under the general umbrella of everyday carry items (EDC, in guy stuff lingo). A surprising number of guys give a surprising amount of thought to what they put in their pockets, on their key chains, and in their backpacks, briefcases, etc. It may be partly some hardwired Boy Scout impulse, but it makes sense that we should think hard about the stuff we pack everywhere with us.

So I ordered a mini flashlight. Any number of times I've wished I had one (again just last night), and with the incredible new LED emitters out now, a single AA flashlight just a little larger than the battery powering it can throw out an amazing amount of light for more than an hour. When I get it, I'll review it.

But another interesting discovery was that there has been a big leap in rechargeable battery technology in the last couple of years. I think it started in 2006, when Sanyo introduced their Eneloop batteries. You can read their website for details, but these are a fantastic improvement over older NiMH rechargeables. The biggest advance is this: Traditional NiMH cells discharge even when not in use (self-discharge). That means, if you charge them up and toss them in your camera, when you pull it out next month to use it, the batteries will be partly or even entirely dead. You basically have to charge them right before use.

But Eneloops retain 85% of their charge after a full year of storage. This is not as good as quality alkaline or (especially) lithium single-use cells, but it is still a phenomenal advance. And these cells still retain the two big advantages of traditional rechargeables: very high capacities (2000 mAh vs 400-1000 mAh for standard alkalines) and high reusability. Eneloops are said to be good for 1000 charge cycles. That means if you use a full charge and recharge every week, a set will last you 19 years.

How expensive are they? A four-pack of AAs is about $12. You can buy an excellent Duracell charger with two AAs from Amazon for $17. Given the cost savings, greater performance, and environmental benefits, there is now no reason to buy conventional alkalines. However, lithium cells are still the best choice for long-term emergency storage and extreme temperature usage. They self-discharge just 0.5% per year at room temperature, meaning they are still pretty fresh after 10 years, and work well even in very cold weather. They are also very energy dense (typically 2900 mAh for lithium AAs).

Since Eneloops came on the market, other manufacturers have introduced similar cells under the name "hybrid" or "pre-charged rechargeable." (Older rechargeables necessarily came uncharged.) The main contenders are Duracell Pre-charged Rechargeables, Rayovac Hybrids, and Kodak Pre-charged. Some Duracells (made in Japan) are thought to be rebranded Sanyo Eneloops, while other Duracells (made in China) are thought to be rebranded Rayovac Hybrids.They all perform similarly, but the Sanyos have a bit more energy than the Rayovacs.

Addendum: See updates here and here.

Touched: Solebon Solitaire

I mentioned in my review of Mondo Solitaire a competing game, Solebon Solitaire. I did in fact get it and have been testing them in a head-to-head smackdown. The winner? Undecided. Mondo has many more games, an insane number, but Solebon is adding more with every update. Mondo is a little more automated (it moves cards where they should go for you), which may be a pro or con, depending on preference. The big difference is graphics. Solebon uses a vertical screen orientation rather than horizontal, as Mondo does. The cards are also larger and the graphics a bit nicer. I find the instructions a bit better, too. And for $2.00, I can't imagine anyone feeling they did not get their money's worth. Disappointingly, neither of these solitaires just has my favorite variant, Australian Patience.

Epiphany

An epiphany is a rare event, by which I mean, a moment of fundamental insight that instantly and permanently changes your perception of life and the world. But I had one such in Nov. 2006 when I visited the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., as I was in town for a conference. I've been to the National Gallery a number of times, and each visit seems more rich and meaningful than the last. But this time I was struck by two paintings in particular, not so much for their artistic merit, but for an insight into the human experience that they communicated to me.

I will not say too much about them. You can click on the images below and get a fuller description. The first is a Dutch still life by Willem Claesz Heda of a table laden with food, a common painting subject at the time and his specialty. I was first drawn to the realism. Then I thought, "You know, that kind of looks tasty." Then I began to think more deeply about food as an object of art, its inherent aestheticism, its timeless and universal desirability, and its centrality in our hierarchy of pleasures.


Willem Claesz Heda, Banquet Piece with Mince Pie (1635)

The second painting is another Dutch work, this time by Jan Steen. It shows a "scene of daily life," perhaps a wedding feast, and while the dancing couple may be at physical center, food obviously plays a central role in this celebration. With this painting I reflected on how timelessly central food is to most all of our festive occasions, and how communal eating (feasting!) is the quintessential festive act.


Jan Steen, The Dancing Couple (1663)

These two paintings worked together with a really great meal there (at Ten Pehn, fantastic) to convince me that, while food is a quotidian necessity, great food should be a bigger part of my life. And thus was a passion born.

Gastronomic Racism

There is arising in Italy a movement to ban ethnic food restaurants, anything that is not Italian. This would be nothing too concerning, a nationalistic lark, except it is actually getting some substantive political support (read here). While I like to see enthusiasm for traditional, regional and ethnic cuisine, like the French passion for raw milk cheese, I find the legal suppression of competing food cultures pretty shocking. Though I'll admit, the legal suppression of McDonalds I might be open to.

A Good Offense

No, this is not a post about the Steelers. In a strange departure, this post is actually a shout-out to a truly offensive artist for a cause, Oleg Volk.

Now, I am a registered Dem and a true liberal among Mormons. That last fact, of course, does not necessarily make me very liberal at all. And I confess, I am ultra-conservative in one cardinal respect. I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, or RKBA in proper rightwing nut job lingo (the right to keep and bear arms). Many Mormon friends, who fear for my liberal soul, take great solace in the fact that I believe everyone has the right to pack heat.

To use a phrase like "everyone has the right to pack heat" is of course flippant. It would be seen as offensive and inflammatory to RKBA opponents. Most RKBA advocates take both the right and responsibility of gun ownership very seriously, and certainly I do. But at the same time, advocates love to use zingers like that, not privately (firearms are no joking matter), but rather publicly. At least in the right company. Mostly because they love to offend RKBA opponents. It's tail twisting.

But of course offense and humor have long been used to advance rights and causes. Since it is usually liberals who are activists, pretty much by definition, one does not encounter it so much in connection with conservatives. But done well, I think it is a rich role reversal.

So, Oleg Volk. Next to whack-em-n-stack-em Ted Nugent (even I detest him), he would surely be at the top of any anti-RKBA hate list. Volk is the founder/owner of The High Road, a massively popular gun and RKBA forum, and an emigrant from the USSR who knows something personally about oppression and defenselessness. He also produces pro-RKBA advocacy ads that are widely seen on the Interweb, especially on forums. At first I thought that most were in just shockingly bad taste, and more likely to retard than advance public opinion. But I think I've come to better appreciate the hyperbolic genre he is working in. Of course he wants to provoke, and even offend, and that he does. He even makes me uncomfortable. But I guess the best defense is . . .

Many examples of Volk's art and ads can be found on A Human Right. Here are a few mild ones:

Touched: Mondo Solitaire

So, what is it with me and reviews? What can I say. I like reading 'em and writing 'em. But at least I'm not reviewing another set of headphones. At least today.

I've been really loving my iPod Touch. At night I get in bed, put on some soothing tunes (Fleet Foxes!), and play a game for a bit to unwind. Touch Physics was great for a while, but it's just hard enough not to be entirely relaxing. Now I'm really grooving on Mondo Solitaire.

This actually surprises me. Every computer has it, everyone has played it, but I've never been a big fan of solitaire. I'm a serious computer gamer, which means (almost by definition) I'm not a casual gamer, and have never liked casual games. But this version of solitaire is very well implemented. Graphically, if it is not Hardwood Solitaire, the ultimate solitaire for the PC, it still looks good, given the screen territory the programmers had to work with. It is very easy to play with the touch screen, though occasionally my fat fingers make it a bit hard to see exactly what I'm poking at. And it has every conceivable variation of solitaire (over 100, they say). I picked it up on a 99 cent sale over Christmas. It is now back at $5.00. If that's a bit too much bank for a card game, or you just want something basic, then Sol Free Solitaire is both free and very good. I like its graphics even better than Mondo's, but of course, it has fewer games (just five). I note that the full version, Solebon Solitaire (35 games), is now priced at $1.99. I may just have to try it . . .

A Different Fast

Many religious traditions have physical fasts, and some people occasionally fast for purely for their heath. I personally do not believe there are any valid heath reasons, unless crashing your metabolism has hidden health benefits I cannot see. But integrative medicine guru Andrew Weil (that beard alone makes him some kind of guru) has long advocated the benefits of a "media break" or "news fast." He's written on this a lot, but one piece can be read here. Basically, news specifically but also other media can contribute significantly to stress and depression. An NYT article recently reported a study linking television watching and depression. One snippet:

“We looked at 8 to 10 activities that happy people engage in, and for each one, the people who did the activities more — visiting others, going to church, all those things — were more happy,” Dr. Robinson said. “TV was the one activity that showed a negative relationship. Unhappy people did it more, and happy people did it less.”

I have myself tried media fasts, news fasts in particular, and it really works for me. Reading the news simply expands my world of concerns. Some times a smaller, simpler world is what I really need.

Headphone Reviews III: Denon AH-C551K

Of the three IEMs I'm reviewing here, these are the top dogs. When 'phones start hitting a Benjamin at retail, you are generally headed for real head-fi territory. I bought my Denon AH-C551Ks used for $40 off of Amazon Marketplace ($99 retail), and they look and sound every cent of the asking price.

Denon is a top audio brand, though new to the headphone market. These are upper-middle in their IEM range. They have large 11mm active drivers in hard-coated aluminum housings with a frequency range of 15Hz-24kHz. They are semi-open in design, using what Denon calls "Accoustic Optimizer" technology. And yes, they have that most essential feature, the left-ear bump.

Their sound is scooped with truly, gloriously thumpin' bass. Or maybe it is not scooped so much as the bass is just very prominent. I have a set of beyerdynamic DT770 full-size headphones that are supposed to be real bass cannons. These little monsters shame them. But, the bass is clear and punchy, as is the rest of the spectrum. Unlike my JBLs and JVCs, they sound hi-fi from top to bottom. But with a whole lot of bottom. I can listen to about anything with them and not be dissatisfied, but they do have their own sound. Not everyone would like their sound with every kind of music. But with hard rock, they crush.

Aside from their bass-biased sound, I have three small dislikes. They come with a two-piece cable, a 20” base cable with a 31” extension. This is great if you use them with an armband player, but that is not my primary use. So I'd be happier with a single cable. The two-piece cable also adds to the already substantial weight of the aluminum housings. They are they first 'phones I've had with noticeable weight, though not really uncomfortable. But lighter would be better. Finally, the ear tips that are supplied with them are lousy. They don't fit my ears, or (it seems from reviews) most other human ears. Easily fixed, though, with some good-but-cheap double-flanged silicone tips off the 'Bay.

If I had a do-over, would I still get them? Maybe not. I'd probably save my coin and go for some Etymotic Research IEMs, even though twice the price. These Denons are good, very good, but not quite head-fi nirvana.

Headphone Reviews II: JBL Reference 220

I am going to first point you to another review of the JBL Reference 220 canalphones, which has good pictures and discussion of the "system" part of this "earphone system." The "system" is basically just several ways provided to the user for hanging them on your head or sticking them in your ears. That I do not care about so much, though the included semi-hard case I do like.

I bought these 'phones off ePrey as refurbs from the JBL outlet store for $20 ($79 retail). They have great cloth-covered cables and are of quality build, even if still plastic (not a bad thing, for weight). They are of an unusual (for earphones) open-back design, which may let out some sound, but generally makes the audio less canned or boxy. Although they came with four sets of tips, I just threw on an old set of Skullcandy silicones that fit fine. They have standard "large" apertures common to a lot of earphones (Creative EP-630s, etc.), so many other tips will work with them.


My 220s are black, but they also come in white and, in fact, are sold on Apple's online store.

Now, if you bothered to look at that review above, ignore the reviewer's comments on the sound. He either got very different 'phones or has very different ears. These are NOT bass heavy phones. They are in fact quite neutral, though perhaps a bit warm (warmth=non-harshness). Each 'phone uses a single, active driver of unknown size, but frequency response is just 20Hz–20kHz, which is pretty shallow on the bass. But I think they sound very much like my audiophile-grade Grado SR-60s. They do not have that scooped rock sound so many phones have, but their neutrality is a real plus in terms of versatility. They're parked on my Touch right now, because while they are not the ultimate phones for any one thing, they do sound good with just about everything. The only thing I miss is that they do not have a left-ear bump on the left 'phone, so that you can identify it by touch, something both my JVCs and my Denons have and which I have come to regard as essential. (My Skullcandy's didn't even label the L and R 'phones, as if it does not matter . . .)

So, would these 'phones be worth the $80 retail price? That's not high-end spendy, but it's more than my Grados cost. Yes, they are good, but I'm not sure they're that good. But for $20, they are brilliant.

Headphone Reviews I: JVC HA-FX33/34 "Marshmallows"

I've been trying a few different headphones the last while in pursuit of headphone nirvana. As I wrote a few weeks ago, head-fi is where it's at, and nothing does more for DAP sound quality than a great set of 'phones. I've also introduced my devoted readership (yes, both of you) to the basics of earbuds. Here we're starting at the low end.

JVC Marshmallows can be bought at any big box electronics store for about $20, but I paid $6-$8 for my two pairs on ePrey. They are of epic reputation for providing good sound quality at a stupidly low cost. The HA-FX33/34s (I have no idea the difference between to two model numbers) are nicknamed marshmallows because that is just what the foam ear tips look like. They they use soft, memory foam tips very like hardware store earplugs rather than the silicone tips other canalphones use. They seal well and are fairly comfortable, to me. They are totally closed and attenuate outside noise very well.

Marshmallows come in several colors, of which a few are a bit garish.

These buds have 8.5mm active drivers and a 8-23,000Hz frequency response. To my ears, they sound is a bit scooped, meaning the mids are a bit recessed. Many, MANY headphones are scooped, so they probably would not sound artificial to most people. They have plenty of bottom end, in any case, but the bottom is a bit boomy compared to more expensive 'phones. The good isolation and scooped sound makes them great phones for car travel, since the strong top and bottom project well over road noise. And for the price of a drink and sandwich, there is little concern if you should close them in the car door, etc. All in all, by audiophile consensus, they may just be the best bang-4-buck canalphones out there, and a quantum leap beyond bog stock iBuds.

The Zune: A Great Failed Product

The prophets of doom are reading the tea leaves and saying the Zune is on its way out. Perhaps. MS is almost certainly losing money on it. This is really a great shame. The Touch is murdering everything outside the commodity player market, and the whole market for DAPs is quickly becoming commoditized. But in the latest revision, MS finally got the Zune to where it should have been on Day One. Namely, it not only has wi-fi, it can now connect to the Zune Marketplace over any open network. With a Zune Pass ($14.99/mo), this means you can now listen to any of 3 million songs anywhere you have wi-fi access. I've said before that this is what Apple needs to do. (They will not, I am sure, until forced to.) It may be too little too late, but still, we can be glad that MS (for a change) is innovating and showing the way.

Ahhh, Alaska

My brother-in-law just published online his travelogue of a cruise our family took to Alaska a number of years ago. It is very well done and a very nostalgic for me. Significant Other and I are really looking forward to doing that again sometime. My only regret is a picture that includes me in profile, since at the time I was 80 pounds heavier. I probably put on another 10 on that cruise. Ohh, the food . . .

Give Up Orange Juice, Save the Planet

PepsiCo, which owns Tropicana, just completed a study of the carbon footprint of a glass of its orange juice.The damage? "[T]he equivalent of 3.75 pounds of carbon dioxide are emitted to the atmosphere for each half-gallon carton of orange juice." Most of this comes from the effects (both manufacturing and use) of the fertilizer used to grow the oranges. Of course, one can grow oranges without using nitrogen fertilizer, but this makes them more expensive. Which makes no sense to a for-profit corporation, so instead they are just debating whether to spin this statistic or bury it. Too late to bury it.

Death of the Humanities

Most of us who work in the humanities at universities and colleges have seen our fields and departments in decline for some time. This trend has now been documented in a new book, and the whole sad event has also received some attention from Stanley Fish. I'm a little more optimistic about my particular field, religious studies, because many religious schools like my own will always support it. But I did my undergraduate degree in Classics. While Latin instruction in secondary schools is thriving, that field is otherwise on life support. It will survive, but probably not independently. Expect to see ongoing consolidation of departments and disciplines into smaller, "Swiss army knife" general humanities faculties.

Fine Food Causes Brain Damage

Or, brain damage causes you to eat fine food. While precise cause and effect is not clear, a new "benign" eating disorder has apparently been identified. Termed "gourmand syndrome," a new study "describes a preoccupation with food and a preference for fine eating."

Analysis of the clinical and anatomical data of 36 patients who displayed this behavior revealed, in 34, a strong association with lesion location in the right anterior part of the brain involving cortical areas, basal ganglia or limbic structures. Our finding provides further evidence of a correlation between right hemispheric damage, eating, and other impulse control disorders.

I admit that I'm becoming a bit of a foodie, so I'm not sure whether I should be worried at this or just amused.

Inauguration Day

I thought Pres. Obama gave a great inauguration speech, but one commentator said she liked even more his speech following the Lincoln Memorial concert Sunday afternoon. So I read it, and I liked it, and you too can read it here. Congratulations, Mr. President.

Melancholy Nation

An interesting paragraph from a wellness article in Outside, which parallels my experience. Our passive lifestyles are extremely detrimental to our mental health. It's one of the reasons I've come to believe that constantly engaging in creative activity is essential to well-being.

We're a nation of depressives. According to Randolph-Macon College behavioral neuroscientist Kelly Lambert, author of Lifting Depression (2008), we're ten times more likely than our grandparents to suffer from the blues. The clinical blues, that is—not the my-girlfriend-dumped-me sort. Why? We've abandoned physical interactions with our environment. "A lot of our mental illnesses are about the perception that we have no control," says Lambert. She proposes that, thanks to our affinity for computers and drive-throughs, we don't engage the brain's "effort-driven rewards circuit" enough. Our ancestors made plans—"build shelter; plant potato; kill elk"—and executed them with well-evolved hands. It's called controlling your envi­ronment. When we do this, our brains reward us with dopamine. But these days we've stopped using our hands for much beyond punching buttons. So curing your mood may mean putting down your BlackBerry and pulling on some work gloves. A few suggestions: Grow a tomato plant. Be your own bike mechanic. Catch a fish. Clean it and eat it. Learn guitar. Call next in pickup basketball. Just don't lose—if you don't execute your plan correctly, well, you don't get the dopamine.

The Macho Evangelical

I've said before, I'm not much into posting on religion, because that's work, not leisure. But it looks like I'll be making some exceptions. This NYT article on Pastor Mark Driscoll of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle was very interesting, less for the somewhat racy bits (reader warning) than for the profile of evangelical neo-Calvinism that it profiles. Many protestants, both liberal and conservative, have been increasingly uncomfortable with Calvinist predestination. Many evangelicals today might describe themselves as "four-point Calvinists" (Google it), rejecting limited atonement to some degree or other. Others question the doctrine of election altogether. There has always been pushback against this "weak" Calvinism from some quarters, but I find this example especially interesting because it is not egghead theology, but commonman spirituality.

Physics Can Be Fun!

I said in my review that the iPod Touch 3rd party apps were very good, and that in particular there were some first-rate games appearing. I have only been sampling the free and 99cent variety, but I've come across a few even in that modest segment that are really well done.

I've read that one of the hot indy games on the PC right now is a game called Crayon Physics Deluxe, which was also just released to the App Store for the iPhone/Touch. I have not coughed up the five clams for that (yet), but I have been playing its cheaper cousin, Touch Physics. For a buck, it is a mini-marvel. Descriptions are dull, but in a nutshell: the game has you draw shapes on screen, which then follow the laws of physics. So, round things roll, square things stack, etc. You need to use these shapes to move an object from one side of the screen to the other. Sounds dull, but it's really loads of fun. But don't take my word for it. Live large. Blow a buck on it and see for yourself.

More Fleet Foxes

I'm so hip to this album right now that I felt I should post the full imeem stream. Listen, love it, pass it on. (NB: Tracks on imeem playlists are very often not in the album order, even if they include the full album, as is the case here. But hey, whaddaya want for free?)

Fleet Foxes

Noir, Jim Noir

But no, he is not a private eye. I came across him on an old Best of list from '06, which said of his Tower of Love: "Sure, Jim Noir — the mysterious Mancunian in the bowler hat — has practically cut-and-pasted bits of Pet Sounds into his gentle pop pastiche. But this charming man gets an 'A' for effort. After all, it's actually hard to ape the Beach Boys at their most psychedelic, and Noir's cloudlike choruses and clever couplets stoke pop's eternal flame in a most enchanting way. Plus he did it all himself." I went thence and imeemed him, and indeed, this artist breathes new life into the most flowery sixties pop. He makes want to drive straight to Haight-Ashbury and join in the new Flower Power revival. Take a listen.

Best Albums of '08: The Black Keys - Attack & Release

I'm only going to do a couple of more "Best of" reviews, and this will be the only one of a band the I do truly love, and have for several years. It's ironic that, as an aspiring bassist, two of my favorite bands are bassless. The other is the White Stripes. (I hear bass lines on this album, but it may be a guitar through an octaver, though Auerbach has recorded with bass before.) Both bands play (or used to play, with the Stripes) stripped-down garage rock blues. One reviewer says, "If Jimi Hendrix had been a white guy from Akron who frequented hipster dive bars, he might have made music like this." Whatever, I like 'em. And Robert Plant likes them, which gives them amazing cred in my book. But I'm not sure this is their best album. I like the early stuff self-recorded in a basement on a Tascam 8-track better. This album is produced by Danger Mouse and sounds a lot slicker, at least by their lo-fi standards. But I'm glad they're getting critical recognition. Warning: My one and only regular reader probably won't like this all that much (sorry, dear).

Best Albums of '08: Neil Young - Sugar Mountain

Neil Young sounds a lot like . . . Well, I'm sure he sounds like someone before him, but he has now himself become a fixed standard to which others are compared. He is an American original. This is a live album recorded in 1968 just after the breakup of Buffalo Springfield, as he was preparing to launch his solo career. He of course does some Springfield ("Mr. Soul," "Broken Arrow"), but mostly material he would release on his first album, or later albums. Young has always been a stripped-to-the-bone performer, but it doesn't get any more basic than this: Young and his acoustic guitar. It's a great snapshot of an iconic singer/songwriter just coming into his full powers, at the age of 22. If you don't like this, you won't like anything by Young. NPR's Bob Boilen did a great piece on Young and this album that you can read here. And now, the whole album, and in the proper track order (!).

Felicitous Minimalism

I used to be a devoted follower of the NYT columnist, the Minimalist (Mark Bittman). But I've gotten out of the habit of reading him. Yet every January we seem to catch a new wave of enthusiasm for cooking, and for any enthusiastic home cook, Bittman is a must-read. This is one of those great general hints and tips columns he often does that I find among his very best. I'm definitely making a simple stock, which Significant Other has been threatening to do but which I have not been too enthusiastic for. The tipping point was Bittman's inclusion of celery in his stock, which I don't like to eat but is delicious in soup base. Time to boil some chicken bones. Maybe I'll make it into a spicy chicken soup.

OK, Now I'm Worried

My favorite economist is Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, not only because he's one of the best, but also because I can actually understand him. His current forecast is not bright. We need risky, radical, large-scale, politically-difficult action on the part of the government—immediately—or we are facing Great Depression II. As someone who works at a non-profit funded by charitable donations, I can't help but be a bit nervous about the future. The good news is that Obama knows what needs to be done and will try do do it. The bad news is that it will be politically difficult. Everyone hold your breath . . .

The Death of DRM

The MacWorld Expo is mostly a platform for Apple to roll out new hardware. They did roll out a new 17" MacBook Pro yesterday, but at $2800, in the midst of economic chaos, I'm not sure it will fly off the shelves. Otherwise, the keynote was a bit of a yawn, all about software revisions (no wonder Jobs chose not to speak). But, the famous "one more thing" at the end was more interesting. DRM will be removed from all songs sold on iTunes (NYT article, Apple).

This was inevitable, but a long time coming. Steve Jobs wrote an open letter to the recording industry in Feb. '07, urging them to do just this. They in fact have not required DRM for music purchased from Amazon, but except for EMI, the labels have retained that restriction for Apple. This has probably been for two main reasons.

First, the labels have hated the iTunes monopoly. With it, Jobs has had them over a barrel for years. By allowing Amazon to sell tracks DRM-free, they have been hoping to build Amazon up as a competitor. And in fact, Amazon has not done badly, but they are no iTunes killer.

But (second reason) they've also finally gotten the big concession they wanted from Jobs: variable pricing for songs. Jobs has been adamant about his 99 cent flat pricing model. But the labels wanted their older back catalog to sell for less (so they could sell more) and their new, hot songs to sell for more (they'll probably sell the same number, but at higher margins). Jobs finally agreed to this and they dropped the DRM.

This is good. DRM is evil. It had to die. But what about all those DRM-poisoned tracks you've already purchased? You can "upgrade" them to DRM-free 256k tracks for 30% of the purchase cost, just as before. Think of it as a format migration. And expect to pay for those songs again and again as new formats emerge. Or, just buy CDs and turn them into whatever you want, whenever you want.

What's next for iTunes? I think lossless music has to be somewhere in its future (yet another format migration). And also a buffet-style all-you-can-hear subscription service, like Rhapsody. Again, Jobs hates the idea, but even he will relent in the face of necessity.

But another real revolution in digital music is social networking services. And here the gorilla in the room is not MySpace or Facebook, but imeem. imeem has licensing agreements with all the major labels that allow users to upload and share music and videos from their artists. And it's free (advertiser supported). Admittedly, this is not a challenge to portable music services, but social networking elements are already incorporated into subscription services. And this is what consumers want: a way to share music (not just playlists) with their friends. Apple certainly knows this and eventually will do it.

Best Albums of '08: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

I admit it, I liked the Bee Gees back in the day, but I've never appreciated falsetto vocals. But as much critical acclaim as this album has received, I approached it with an open mind and surprised myself. The story of the the album's recording has to be part of the allure. Solo artist Justin Vernon retreated to his parents' cabin in Wisconsin for three months to recover from a confluence of personal difficulties: the breakup of a band and a relationship, and poor health. This retreat hadn't meant to result in a recording, but he had the gear and this album was his catharsis. And it sounds like it. The album is less about particular songs than a distinctive style and sound, and an evocative emotionality. I myself will be inclined to listen it only at certain blue times, less for pleasure than for, as was intended, catharsis.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

You and I Are Killing Books

There was a very interesting piece in the NY Times this past week about the terrific damage that buying used books online is doing to publishers and resellers. The fact is, every time we buy a used book online, often for a pittance, we deprive the author, publisher and retail resellers of potential income. Many authors will always publish, even if they make no money at it. But print publishers and resellers are really hurting from this new economy, and shrinking, and dying. Should we online book buyers feel guilty? I think not. The market will adapt, money will always be made by somebody, and good books will always be published. Just maybe not in print.

My Kind of Touring

I love food and I love to travel. Ideal travel to me is "culinary touring." Most every destination has something unique to offer the foodie, if only you know where to find it, as food gurus Alton Brown and Calvin Trillin show so well. Trillin's Trilogy is high inspiration to me.

But if you have a fetish for chocolate, REAL chocolate (yes, that's another post), there is really only one locale that will offer you satisfaction: Paris. This article offers a short connoisseur's tour of that chocolate-lover's paradise. Proceed from there immediately to Mort Rosenblum's Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light, best read with a bar of Valrhona in hand.

Best Albums of '08: Plants & Animals - Parc Avenue

This was not a high profile album and made it onto few "Best of" lists (in fact, maybe only one). But it did receive some critical recognition, as a finalist for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize (an alternative Canandian Grammys), and I really like it. The artists themselves classify their music as "post-classic rock," which I guess means that it's channelling classic folk and rock (the Beatles, Neil Young, the Dead, 60s Brit-pop, and a touch of psychadelic) while remaining thoroughly modern. The same could probably be said for most of today's hot alt-rock. It's a fairly eclectic album, but it all really hangs together well, a harmonious whole. See a fuller review here.

Parc Avenue

Scientists Discover that Religion Is Good for You

I don't often post on religion since that's my employment. This blog is for leisure. But this article is nothing too heavy, just generally interesting. For some of us, it's probably just a, "Tell me something I didn't know."

This NYT article reports that two scientists at the University of Miami "have reviewed eight decades of research and concluded that religious belief and piety promote self-control." It continues:

Researchers around the world have repeatedly found that devoutly religious people tend to do better in school, live longer, have more satisfying marriages and be generally happier. These results have been ascribed to the rules imposed on believers and to the social support they receive from fellow worshipers, but these external factors didn’t account for all the benefits. . .

Religious people, he said, are self-controlled not simply because they fear God’s wrath, but because they’ve absorbed the ideals of their religion into their own system of values, and have thereby given their personal goals an aura of sacredness.

Nonreligious folks can try to replicate the forms and practices of religion to derive similar benefits, but I expect further research will show, as is indicated here, that these virtues derive much more from belief than practice.

Friends Don't Let Friends . . .

drive drunk and crash their cars into other people's houses on New Year's. OK, lame title, but I've only had two hours sleep. The alternative was an über-cliché: "The Griffins started the new year off with a bang."

The bang happened at 2:40am this morning. Carl the insomniac was just falling asleep. I heard what, in retrospect, was clearly a loud crash, behind my head and slightly to the east. Tani jumped straight up in bed and went into a delirious five-alarm panic. Neither of us could process what the noise was, but of course ran out of our room in search. Immediately we heard what sounded like the panic beeper on our car, a horn honking like a car alarm gone off. We processed that, ran to the garage, but it had stopped and our car just looked at us nonplussed.

Tasha was on the couch asleep, her room gutted for repainting. But I stuck my head in her room anyway and noticed a blinking yellow light outside her window. I pressed my face to the glass, looked at the SE corner of the house, saw the blinking yellow light, also halogen light, bits of debris that I registered as perhaps rain gutter. Had something fallen out of the sky onto our house? "Tani, I have to go outside." A knock at the door as I'm running to it, a young man I don't know. "Sir, a car just ran into your house."

"Uh, Tani, call 911."


Direct link to Flickr set

It is a nice car, actually, a blue Dodge Avenger, with no one in it and parked on top of my air conditioning unit. The polite young man and his companions explain: They were coming up the street that intersects Main, ending in a T just behind our house. The Avenger flew by them "doing at least 100" and did not even slow down at Main. It jumped the curb and went through our neighbor's back fence, airborne over 15' of his lawn, landing and careening through the side fence into our house. It was stopped by our south window-well and the AC unit. The driver (a parolee, and drunk) immediately fled the scene.

Policemen, firemen, several concerned neighbors, a nice Questar gas man, all converged on our house until about 5:00am. The vehicle was towed, the police went after the driver. He eventually turned back up at the party he'd left, and the police hurried off to collect him. We estimate the damage at over $10k, but that swanky new car has to be insured. It will be a massive headache, but we do not expect to foot the bill for the carnage. Mostly we just feel very blessed. The car just kissed our gas meter. Six inches to the left would have taken out our gas thingy, maybe in a ball of flame. Six feet to the left would have put him in our bed. This same thing happened to our neighbor on the north two years ago. Just now, we are not liking our home location. I think we need some WW2-era tank traps installed behind our rear fence.



I better have a shower. It may be a long first day to 2009.